Have you ever jumped on the opportunity to grab a prize in a giveaway? How about leaping to win a contest?
We tend to love getting something for free or standing out in a competition. And, we’re not alone. Competitions, contests, and giveaways are powerful ways to generate leads and win attention.
Contests and giveaways are a big part of connecting with your target audience. Here’s a short post on what our team at LocalView has learned in the trenches.
1. Identify Objectives for a Giveaway or Contest
What’s the real benefit of running a contest or giveaway? They are exceptionally powerful ways to win attention.
Because contests work so well, a lot of big organizations use them to get more leads, increase engagement, and drive traffic to their site.
Many small business owners don’t realize that holding a contest is not just for the big guys.
In this first step, don’t sweat about what to give away. (We’ll get to that in Step 3.)
First, focus on your “Why.”
Asking ‘why’ leads you to define specific objectives such as:
- Get more leads
- Get more local leads
- Gather user-generated video content
- Increase engagement with current customers
- Increase referrals
- Skyrocket sales
- Increase subscriptions
Have some coffee if you like – and go to work identifying your big objectives.
2. Get Smart about Your Contest Objectives
Be SMART. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Resourceful, and Timely. You may recall this acronym from school or early business training.
Setting smart goals helps you focus your contest or giveaway to deliver the desired results.
The more specific you get, the better.
Look at each of your objectives. Roll up your sleeves and start to drill down.
Here’s an example.
Instead of ‘get more leads’, consider how many leads, by when, and by what type of leads. The more you focus on your objectives, the more valuable your contest will be to your business strategy.
If this kind of conceptual thinking is not your thing, don’t worry. Get your team in to have a brainstorming session. Give our Local View team a shout and we’ll help you nail down the details in no time.
3. Choose a Brand-Focused Prize
What is your business known for? What does your brand mean to your customers?
Picking a brand-focused prize is super important. It’s a make-or-break step in designing an exceptional giveaway. Emulate what big companies do – but personalize it to your brand, product, and services.
Although Apple can give away iPads to high-need schools without a blink, you can emulate this great idea. It doesn’t mean you have to fork over a bunch of hard-earned cash for iPads to give away.
Select a prize that highlights your brand.
When you pick the right prize, you’ll attract people who truly want your brand, products, and services. You won’t have to sort through all the emails or entries to see if the participants are seeking freebies or potential prospects.
If you pick a generic prize, you’ll attract people who just can’t resist any contest. You may have more participants, but your group has less value for your business.
4. Refine Your Brand-Related Prize
Look for ways to highlight your brand by offering prizes that will especially appeal to your specific audience.
A few ways to do this include:
- Offer coupon codes for use in your services
- Offer discounts to be used in your store or online shop
- Offer time-limited access to your products, services, and solutions
Emphasize the value of your prize. Some of the creative ways to showcase value include:
- Create a short-form video about the outstanding value
- Emphasize the full value price of the free prize, such as $2000-$3000
- Show the original cost crossed out — and the price at 0
Some people feel these methods are too cheesy. It can seem like that — until you notice that these methods really work. People love getting exceptional value for free. That’s a big driver for why people participate in contests.
5. Put The Contest Pieces Together
It’s time to put all the pieces together. Since there are a lot of ways to design a giveaway, have some fun designing the ultimate contest for your brand.
If you’re new to running contests, browse around to see what other people are doing. You may find new ideas start percolating and popping into your mind.
Think about:
- Refer-a-friend contest. This is a terrific way to generate leads and build rapport with new prospects.
- Instant win contests. Everybody loves instant and this is a great way to be successful.
- Photo and video contests. Create user-generated visuals about your products in a snap. This can transform your marketing while giving you a tremendous lead boost.
- Create write-in contests. User-generated articles provide an exceptional foundation for content marketing.
6. Promote Like Wildfire
The more you get the word out about your contest or giveaway, the better.
Promoting your contest takes strategic planning and execution. You’ll want to create a unique landing page for your contest where people can leave their email. Send an email to your list to let everyone know you’ve got a contest going. Use social media to spread the news. Write a blog post or three about the contest.
To go the extra mile, you may want to create a specific ad campaign to drive traffic to the contest. The sky is the limit.
The more people who know about your giveaway, the more you can achieve your business goals.
In Conclusion
Looking to generate targeted leads and boost your business? A contest or giveaway can be the exact tool you’ve been looking for.
Let’s talk about the best approach for your business’s giveaway or contest. We love designing contests that deliver eye-popping results. The team at Local View is ready to help you plan, design, and run a contest to grow your success. Let’s talk today.